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US Presswire

Blowing out the awful Raiders pretty much served as a second bye week for the Ravens. After nearly every game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh praises his opponents -- some would argue too much -- while opening up his post-game news conferences. But after his team embarrassed the Oakland Raiders in Sunday's 55-20 victory, Harbaugh didn't bother trying (Raiders coach Dennis Allen could find no silver linings, either). That's not to say Harbaugh was disrespectful. Asked by my colleague Mike Preston about his comments last week about how there were no homecoming games in the NFL, Harbaugh smiled, then side-stepped the question like Ray Rice juking a linebacker in the open field. But make no mistake, this game turned out to be more or less a bye week for the Ravens. Quarterback Carson Palmer tripping over right guard Mike Brisiel on an early 4th-and-1 play pretty much summed up how things would go for the sorry Raiders, who emotionally had boarded the team bus around halftime. "Sometimes it just goes that way, right? Our guys made some plays," Harbaugh said. It was arguably the team's most complete game of the season, with the Ravens dominating all three phases for all four quarters. But as flawed as the Ravens have been in recent weeks, this game was the equivalent of a BCS powerhouse mopping the floor with a directional state school. This is probably the last pushover the Ravens will face this season (though the Washington Redskins or the Cincinnati Bengals might have something to say about that). And whether they admit it or not, they have to feel pretty confident heading into their showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers after devouring this cupcake team Sunday. Also important, the strong 60-minute performance meant that the Ravens were able to rest some key players on defense. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata didn't play a snap against the Raiders. Harbaugh said the Ravens activated him in case they needed him, which they clearly didn't. Cornerback Jimmy Smith also sat out the game because he couldn't get his finicky groin loose enough during warmups. Nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu also played sparingly and defensive end Pernell McPhee was ruled out Friday. These injuries will continue to be a concern this week -- particularly the ones that have been hampering Ngata and Smith recently -- but early signs are that the Ravens came out of Sunday healthier than they came in. It technically wasn't a bye week, but all that was missing were swim trunks and frozen umbrella drinks.

Blowing out the awful Raiders pretty much served as a second bye week for the Ravens. After nearly every game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh praises his opponents -- some would argue too much -- while opening up his post-game news conferences. But after his team embarrassed the Oakland Raiders in Sunday's 55-20 victory, Harbaugh didn't bother trying (Raiders coach Dennis Allen could find no silver linings, either). That's not to say Harbaugh was disrespectful. Asked by my colleague Mike Preston about his comments last week about how there were no homecoming games in the NFL, Harbaugh smiled, then side-stepped the question like Ray Rice juking a linebacker in the open field. But make no mistake, this game turned out to be more or less a bye week for the Ravens. Quarterback Carson Palmer tripping over right guard Mike Brisiel on an early 4th-and-1 play pretty much summed up how things would go for the sorry Raiders, who emotionally had boarded the team bus around halftime. "Sometimes it just goes that way, right? Our guys made some plays," Harbaugh said. It was arguably the team's most complete game of the season, with the Ravens dominating all three phases for all four quarters. But as flawed as the Ravens have been in recent weeks, this game was the equivalent of a BCS powerhouse mopping the floor with a directional state school. This is probably the last pushover the Ravens will face this season (though the Washington Redskins or the Cincinnati Bengals might have something to say about that). And whether they admit it or not, they have to feel pretty confident heading into their showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers after devouring this cupcake team Sunday. Also important, the strong 60-minute performance meant that the Ravens were able to rest some key players on defense. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata didn't play a snap against the Raiders. Harbaugh said the Ravens activated him in case they needed him, which they clearly didn't. Cornerback Jimmy Smith also sat out the game because he couldn't get his finicky groin loose enough during warmups. Nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu also played sparingly and defensive end Pernell McPhee was ruled out Friday. These injuries will continue to be a concern this week -- particularly the ones that have been hampering Ngata and Smith recently -- but early signs are that the Ravens came out of Sunday healthier than they came in. It technically wasn't a bye week, but all that was missing were swim trunks and frozen umbrella drinks.

(US Presswire)

Blowing out the awful Raiders pretty much served as a second bye week for the Ravens. After nearly every game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh praises his opponents -- some would argue too much -- while opening up his post-game news conferences. But after his team embarrassed the Oakland Raiders in Sunday's 55-20 victory, Harbaugh didn't bother trying (Raiders coach Dennis Allen could find no silver linings, either). That's not to say Harbaugh was disrespectful. Asked by my colleague Mike Preston about his comments last week about how there were no homecoming games in the NFL, Harbaugh smiled, then side-stepped the question like Ray Rice juking a linebacker in the open field. But make no mistake, this game turned out to be more or less a bye week for the Ravens. Quarterback Carson Palmer tripping over right guard Mike Brisiel on an early 4th-and-1 play pretty much summed up how things would go for the sorry Raiders, who emotionally had boarded the team bus around halftime. "Sometimes it just goes that way, right? Our guys made some plays," Harbaugh said. It was arguably the team's most complete game of the season, with the Ravens dominating all three phases for all four quarters. But as flawed as the Ravens have been in recent weeks, this game was the equivalent of a BCS powerhouse mopping the floor with a directional state school. This is probably the last pushover the Ravens will face this season (though the Washington Redskins or the Cincinnati Bengals might have something to say about that). And whether they admit it or not, they have to feel pretty confident heading into their showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers after devouring this cupcake team Sunday. Also important, the strong 60-minute performance meant that the Ravens were able to rest some key players on defense. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata didn't play a snap against the Raiders. Harbaugh said the Ravens activated him in case they needed him, which they clearly didn't. Cornerback Jimmy Smith also sat out the game because he couldn't get his finicky groin loose enough during warmups. Nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu also played sparingly and defensive end Pernell McPhee was ruled out Friday. These injuries will continue to be a concern this week -- particularly the ones that have been hampering Ngata and Smith recently -- but early signs are that the Ravens came out of Sunday healthier than they came in. It technically wasn't a bye week, but all that was missing were swim trunks and frozen umbrella drinks.